Trans-Am Rulebook

Intl. Racers Cup is the organizing and sanctioning body for the SpeedNet Designs Late Model Stock Series. IRC has adopted the general conditions and competition rules set forth in this Rule Book. The rules and conditions are intended to assist in the orderly conduct of the competition and should be considered as minimum requirements. They will be effective for the 2006 Late Model Stock racing season unless otherwise expressly amended.

FEEDBACK & AMENDMENTS

We understand that some of these rules will eventually need to be amended or supplemented from time to time.

We encourage drivers to give us feed back on what we are doing right and wrong. Never hesitate to send us ideas and suggestions on how to improve this series.

The Late Model Stock Series will be run by majority rule. If you question any of the rules below, or believe changes should be made, let us know and we will discuss possible changes. Provided the proposed changes are not in obvious contradiction with the goals and “spirit” of this series, they will be put to a vote among all series members.

Meanwhile, all Late Model Stock Series drivers are expected to comply with this set of rules and general conditions. It is, therefore, recommended that you read the Rule Book carefully to assure your familiarity with these conditions.

GENERAL CONDITIONS

Joining the IRC Late Model Stock Series

The Late Model Stock series is open to all IRC drivers.

Check JOIN THE LEAGUE for more information.

Registration

After being invited to join the IRC, all drivers are required to send the following information:

Full Name & Player ID (see Player ID below)
Requested Car Number (see Car Number below). The same number will be used for all IRC Series.
Car Make and Sponsor
Hometown

In addition, all drivers are required to submit:

At least one original car file prior to their first race (see Car File below)
A picture and a short bio within 1 month of joining the series (see Driver Pictures & Bios)

Player ID

Drivers participating in the Series must use their real names when racing.

Acceptable variations are:

Firstname Lastname (ex: Bill Fuller)
Firstname_Lastname (ex: Bill_Fuller)
FirstnameLastname (ex: BillFuller)
Initial Lastname (ex: B Fuller)
Initial_Lastname (ex: B_Fuller)
InitialLastname (ex: BFuller)

Each driver must keep using the same Player ID during the season.

If you do not already use this type of ID on N2k3 Multiplayer you can easily add a new ID on the Sierra Login.

Car Numbers

Drivers participating in the Series are required to have different car numbers and each driver must keep using the same car number during the season. Car numbers must be kept the same in all IRC Series.

Driver should request a car number upon registration (see Registration above).

New drivers can check available numbers on the OUR DRIVERS page.

Car numbers are given on a 1^st come 1^st served basis

Car Files

Drivers must submit at least one original car file to be included in the each series that they plan on participating in.

Alternate paint schemes are welcome, but drivers are limited to a maximum of 2 separate car files per season per series.

Car file(s) must always use the driver’s assigned car number.

There is no limitation to the number of updates you can submit to your existing car file(s).

Car file updates must be submitted at least 48 hours prior to the next race .

Car Set

The Late Model Stock Series Car Set is stored on the CAR FILES page.

Driver Pictures and Bios

All drivers are required to send a picture and a short biography within 1 month after joining the IRC.

Pictures will be used on the DRIVERS & BIOS page and in Racers Cup Illustrated.

Here is a sample driver bio page.

Entry Fee / Donations

There is a $20 entry fee to become an IRC driver for the 2006 season. This fee is good for any or ALL the series in the IRC for the entire year. No additional fee is required for running in more than one series. This fee is also completely refunded if a driver races in 20 of the 24 of the Cup races. OR, if a driver only wishes to only run in the Late Models or Trans-AM, this fee will be completely refunded if that drivers runs in ALL of the events for those series.

Small donations are also welcome to help us with Dedicated Race Server as well as Series website & Magazine website hosting fees.

Donations and entry fees will be posted on the ENTRY FEES page.

Sponsorship

We are looking for sponsors. Revenues from sponsorship (cash, free merchandise, discounts, coupons, etc.) will be used to give away awards and prizes at the conclusion of each season.

Several sponsorship packages are available:

Series sponsor
Individual Race Sponsor
Special Award Sponsor

Sponsorship package can include visibility (such as sponsor name, logo and banner) on each Series web site, promotional items and apparel, and in “Racers Cup Illustrated”.

CHAMPIONSHIP

Schedule

2006 Season

The Late Model Stock Series will feature a single 12-race season.

Detailed Schedule is published on the Late Model Stock SCHEDULE & RESULTS page.

Points

An F1-style points structure is in place for the Late Model Stock Series, and is as follows for each event:

1st - 10 points

2nd - 8 points

3rd - 6 points

4th - 5 points

5th - 4 points

6th - 3 points

7th - 2 points

8th - 1 point

No other points will be awarded such as bonus points or provisional points.

Points will be totaled after each event, and updated on the STANDINGS page, whereas the Champion will be named after the 12-race season is complete.

Provisionals

There are NO provisionals awarded in the Late Model Stock Series.

Awards

Please see the PRIZES page for more details.

EVENT LOGISTICS

Driver's Meeting

The Chief Steward will send out the Driver's Meeting or "DM" no later than 24 hours before the race.

The “DM” will contain all race settings. It will confirm the track, race length, server, password, and a link to the track download if that track is not standard within the sim.

The “DM” may also contain any additional information, such as reminders or advice as the Chief Steward feels appropriate for the upcoming event.

There is no excuse for not reading the “Driver's Meeting”. If, for any reason, you don’t receive it on time, your are responsible for checking the Yahoo!Group (it should be posted there), or by emailing the Chief Steward or any other official.

Sierra Arena

Drivers and officials will meet in East Alpha League Discussion 1 prior to the race.

This will be also the meeting place in case of a server crash.

Race Settings

All 2006 races will be run as follows:

Mode: Simulation
Damage: Realistic
Pace Lap: Full Lap
Yellow Flags: On
Restarts: Double File
View: Not Forced
Hardcore mode: No Driving Aids
Pit frequency: 2x
Setups: fixed (setup will be a modification of FAST and available for download from the SCHEDULE AND RESULTS page.

Race Length

The Late Model Stock Series will feature a mix of multiple race lengths for the feature events.

The scheduled race lengths for 2006 are announced on the SCHEDULE & RESULTS page.

Weather Conditions

The Late Model Stock Series will run 70, Clear, 0 wind weather for all 2006 events.

Day & Time

All events will be run on Monday nights.

2006 Season

PRACTICE TIME: 8:00 - 9:00pm EST
QUALIFYING TIME: 9:00pm EST
WARM-UP TIME: 5 minutes
RACE TIME: 9:10pm EST

We expect everyone to be on time and will NOT wait for anyone to join the server. If you haven't joined the server by Qualifying time, you won't get in.

WE WILL NOT RESTART THE SERVER IF ANYONE MISSES QUALIFYING

Race Nomination

The race server should normally be started (automatically or manually) at the time mentioned above (see Day & Time).

Only the Chief Steward or designated Assistant can start, cancel, postpone or restart the server, or make the decision to move from practice to qualify.

Practice may be delayed for whatever reason deemed necessary, but Qualifying will always begin at the time mentioned in the “DM” (see also DAY & TIME).

If for any reason (server crash, server reset, etc), there is a discrepancy between the time remaining in the practice session and the time we are supposed to start qualifying, the Chief Steward or designated Assistant will advance to qualifying session ON TIME (and will announce it accordingly).

If for some reason the qualifying session cannot be started at the time mentioned in the “DM” or within a maximum delay of 20 minutes, the race will be called a rain out & rescheduled for another date (see Rainouts below).

Restarts

There will be NO restarts once the green flag is dropped.

It is up to the Race Steward's discretion to restart an event in case of a yellow flag or damage to cars on the initial pace lap.

If you get booted, rejoin the server and continue on. We do not wait for booted drivers to begin a race.

If the server crashes, the race will not be scored, we will call a rain out and reschedule the race.

Rain Out / Rescheduling

A race could be called a "Rain Out" for the following reasons:

prior to the event (server unavailability, known critical bug for this track, etc.)
if the qualifying session cannot be started within 20 minutes of the scheduled time
if the server crashes during any course of the race making race results unavailable.

If a race has to be called a rain out, it will be attempted to be rescheduled for the next available Monday on the schedule. If that cannot be accomplished, the event will be dropped from the schedule.

Race Standings

The race standings should be automatically saved by the server.

However, we ask that the TOP 3 drivers save their race standings in case the server file cannot be exported normally.

You don't need to send your standings to the officials unless asked for it.

There will be no re-score or correction to the race standings.

You will not be re-scored if you get booted in the closing laps of an event, or get a "bogus" black flag, etc.

If the server crashes and all drivers get booted, the race will not be scored and will be rescheduled.

Race Replays

All drivers MUST save their race replays.

You will be asked to provide a personal replay whenever an incident is brought before the Review Committee. If you cannot provide a personal replay, none will be taken into consideration when reviewing an incident, and only the server replay will be considered.

See INCIDENTS & PENALTIES below

Post Race Meeting

None.

Driver Recaps

None required for the Late Model Stock series at this time.

RACING RULES

Nascar Racing Season 2003 Rules (Reminders)

No passing under yellow, including the pace car.
No speeding in the pits: 15 second penalty for speeding entering your pit stall (no black-flag). Stop & go (black flag) if you speed leaving the pits.
Merge properly: Stay on the apron until your spotter says it's ok to merge. Penalty is a black flag & a stop & go under green. When under yellow there will be no black flag, but you'll be forced to the end of the longest line.
Enter the pits properly: No cutting the grass. Some tracks require use of the access roads when pitting others do not. Penalty is a stop & go.
No passing the leader before the S/F line on starts & restarts: Penalty, black flag, stop & go.
No passing on the left before the S/F line: Penalty, black flag, stop & go.
Pit on the appropriate lap(s): Only cars on the lead lap can pit on the 1st lap the pits open. All others must wait till the next lap.
Damaged car: If you're damaged to the point your smoking or leaking fluids you will be black-flagged.
Reckless driving: Results in disqualification. I.e. driving in the wrong direction.
No passing the official at the end of pit road when he's holding a stop sign: You'll be forced to go to the end of the longest line as a penalty.
Multiple penalties: If you have multiple penalties, you'll be forced to sit an additional 40 seconds beyond the 1st penalty for ever additional penalty received.
Post race penalties: You'll receive a 1-lap penalty for every infraction not served during the race.
Qualifying: Cutting the inner loop, breaking the pit speed limit, or driving in the wrong direction will result in disqualification.
You can't clear a black flag on a restart: You must clear the flag under green conditions

Additional Late Model Stock Rules ("Must Do")

It is our belief that this group will be able to enjoy some very competitive and clean racing without the need for many unrealistic, or restrictive rules.

Instead, we will adopt a "Code of conduct" all our drivers have already got used to in other quality leagues.

Here are the only additional and mandatory rules that will be enforced for the Late Model Stock Series:

Self Spin: After 2 self spins causing a yellow, or two obvious infractions of wrecking another driver, a driver MUST leave the event by respect for his fellow drivers. Failure to comply will result in penalties. Note: a spin in which a driver gets loose and is rear-ended when trying to correct, is also considered as a self spin.
Lapped cars must go thru pits with 10 or less to go: All lapped cars must allow all those cars on the lead lap to pass. Lap cars MUST drive through the pits and obey the official at the end of pit road. Driving through the pits to place yourself behind lead lap cars MUST be done prior to receiving the one to go signal. Failure to comply will result in penalties.
Racing back to S/F: Racing back to the S/F line while under caution is not allowed unless there are 5 or fewer laps remaining. Failure to comply will result in penalties. If you pass a car that has simply slowed down to miss a wreck while under yellow, please attempt to give that car it's position back before taking the yellow flag. However, you do not need to give positions back to cars that are wrecked or spun out.

Code of Conduct ("Should do")

Following is a set of rules of conduct we expect our drivers to follow.

Failure to observe these will not result in automatic penalties but they are usually considered in every serious leagues as a mark of sportsmanship and respect for your fellow drivers.

If it is found, when reviewing a race incident, that failure to observe some of these, actually caused the incident, the Review Committee will be more likely to find the driver at fault (see Infractions above)

Damaged Cars: When damaged and/or unable to move at a normal pace due to a blown tire or heavily damaged engine, initiate a tow back to your pits. Stay low or off the track when trying to limp back to the pits for repairs. If you're damaged and running very slow, consider leaving
Warping cars: Severe warping can cause chaos in a race. If a driver has a very bad connection, he is advised to qualify at the back of the field, leave room during the race and wait until his connection improves before racing hard for position. In the same way, other drivers are advised to leave more room when driving around warping cars. Do not try risky passes. It is OK to signal another driver if he is warping badly, provided it is done politely.
Staggering during caution Laps: Your goal during pace laps and cautions should be to be .5 seconds behind the car in front of you. Leave no less than .3 seconds and no more than .7 seconds.

For double & single file starts and restarts, stagger until the final straightaway before a restart then tighten up. The goal here is to be in the opposite position of the car directly in front of you (high or low). This will decrease the chance of rear ending the driver in front of you under caution.
Tire Warming: Tire warming during caution laps is allowed but discouraged.
Restarts: Maintain a constant speed. Please no Brake checking (Brake checking is the act of tapping the brakes just before a restart to force the cars behind you to also brake). Lead car should stay at pace speed until the green flag is displayed: Do not "time" the pace car and get a jump on the rest of the field, do not "lag" back and get a running start.
Passing before turn 1 on restart: is allowed but discouraged. Please use extreme caution when attempting a turn 1 pass, except if the driver in front of you is obviously out of pace, is experiencing mechanical trouble or radioed to pass him on restart.
No blocking leaders: if you're a lap down or more unless you're racing for position. Racing for position means you're within a few car lengths of a car ahead or behind you in the standings.
Allowing a lapped car to get his lap back: Letting lapped cars get their lap back is allowed but only if they are directly following the leaders. Passing more than 2 lead cars to get a lap back is strongly discouraged.
Bump Drafting: is allowed but should be performed with caution. Avoid bump drafting cars with non perfect connections. Attempt it only with drivers who mentioned prior to the race that they have no problem with it.

Chat Rules

At all Times:

When the Chief Steward or designated Assistant is talking in ALL CAPS, drivers should stop all public conversation and give him the floor.

If you have a question for the Officials, please type "???" to draw attention and the Officials will ask you to take the floor.

Practice:

Chat is permitted.

Qualifying:

No chat during qualifying please, period. Please be sure all time in the session has expired before chatting!

Warm up:

Chat is permitted.

Green Flag Racing:

Limit chat during green flag racing to only necessary communication. However, "Thank you" and "I'm sorry", or versions thereof ARE allowed.

Caution Laps:

Chat is permitted until the "One Lap to Go" signal. However, excessive yellow flag chat can be disruptive to some and therefore discouraged.

Mandatory use of "Auto Chat" messages:

Everyone is required to use "(user ID) PITTING" when pitting under the green flag. Use this message when on the backstretch (front if you pit in the back).

Everyone is required to use "(user ID) EXITING" when exiting the pit lane under the green flag.

Signaling pitting and exiting under caution is NOT mandatory.

Please keep "Auto chat" messages as short as possible.

Additional Mandatory Signals:

Drivers are required to report the following situations:

Lost Gear "(Player ID) Lost 3rd, watch out" (*)
Black Flag "(Player ID) BF"
End of Longest Line Penalty "(Player ID) EOLL, please pass high or low"

(*) Driver with a missing gear should remind other drivers on every restart

"Flaming" and Abusive Chat:

Flaming and abusive chat will not be tolerated! This may be a general statement in many leagues, however the IRC is known for its sportsmanship and camaraderie among drivers. We WILL NOT tolerate flaming even in the slightest of forms.

Yelling, cussing, blaming or accusing other drivers or even ironic or sarcastic comments following an incident will be considered "flaming".

Should you get spun, hit or damaged, DO NOT AIR IT DURING THE RACE OR IN POST RACE CHAT.

Any form of "flaming" will result in a warning, then permanent ban of the IRC.

This includes remarks made during the race sessions, post race chat, public emails as well as private emails sent to other drivers.

Post race chats are for congratulations, positive race comments, or for apologies in case of mishaps.

If you have a problem with another driver, get in touch with your fellow driver through email or inform the League Administrators. In all cases try to work it out in a calm and sportsmanlike manner. If you need to vent, don't do it in public, discuss it with officials FIRST!

INCIDENTS & PENALTIES

Objectives

We believe this group will be able to enjoy some competitive and clean racing without the need to penalize every single incident on the track.

When issuing loads of penalties, these become so common place it tends to reduce their benefits: drivers just take them and move on instead of questioning or changing the way they race.

Nevertheless, we don't want this series to become a free-for-all environment just because we elected to go with less "restrictive" rules: Reckless driving, over-aggressive driving and lack of respect for other drivers should and will be taken care of.

Therefore, we will have a Review Committee and will review incidents brought to our attention.

The following chapter describes how infractions will be judged and penalties issued.

Infractions

Will be considered an infraction:

clear reckless or over-aggressive driving that caused a yellow or damage to another car.
failure to observe the mandatory rules (2 self spins, lapped car with 10 to go...)
severe negligence or failure to observe the recommended "Code of Conduct" that caused a yellow or damage to another car.
any form of flaming and abusive chat as described earlier
any form of blatant take-out or retaliatory action

What will NOT be considered as an infraction:

occasional mistakes
warp related incidents
any incident for which the Review Committee fails to reach a consensus

Review Committee

The Review Committee consist of 4 members, 2 full time reviewers and 2 alternates. Most likely the full-time reviewers will be the IRC Chairman, and the specific series administrator.

If at any time the full time reviewers are involved in an incident, they will NOT be allowed to review that incident. This is where an alternate reviewer will step in to make a call.

Members of the Review Committee will ONLY review incidents brought before the Committee after a protest has been received, or after a blatant violation, such as a chat/flaming infraction has been made.

Both Review Committee members are asked to review each incident independently (i.e. without communicating between each other) and issue one of the following decisions for each incident:

Racing Deal
Driver A at fault
Driver B at fault
Warp

Again, our goal is not to penalize one driver each time there is an incident or caution on the track. Racing incidents are part or racing, and we want you to race. What we want is to penalize and discourage reckless driving, repeated over-aggressive driving, severe negligence or blatant disrespect for fellow drivers, or recommended Code of conduct. Review Committee members are instructed to work with this in mind.

In some instances, members of the Review Committee might not see an incident the same way. In such a case, it is our belief that the evidence should not be considered as conclusive. Race incidents do and will happen and unless we want to prevent drivers from "racing" we must accept these type of "racing deals".

Therefore, a driver will only be penalized if BOTH reviewers reach this decision. All other ruling combinations will be considered warp or a racing deal:

First Reviewer	Second Reviewer	Official Ruling
Racing Deal	Racing Deal	Racing Deal
Racing Deal	Driver A at Fault	Racing Deal
Racing Deal	Driver B at Fault	Racing Deal
Racing Deal	Warp	Warp
Driver A at Fault	Racing Deal	Racing Deal
Driver A at Fault	Driver A at Fault	Driver A at Fault
Driver A at Fault	Driver B at Fault	Racing Deal
Driver A at Fault	Warp	Warp
Driver B at Fault	Racing Deal	Racing Deal
Driver B at Fault	Driver A at Fault	Racing Deal
Driver B at Fault	Driver B at Fault	Driver B at Fault
Driver B at Fault	Warp	Warp
Warp	Racing Deal	Warp
Warp	Driver A at Fault	Warp
Warp	Driver B at Fault	Warp
Warp	Warp	Warp

Reviewing Process

The Review Committee will not review all incident unless a protest is filed - with the exception of blatant mandatory rules violations (such as drivers failing to park their car after 2 spins causing a caution, lapped cars failing to pit with 10 or less to go, chat violations, etc.)

For an incident to be brought before the Committee, here are the guidelines to follow:

Reports are to be submitted to Bill Fuller ONLY.
No report will be accepted for the first 8 hours following the race (i.e. Tuesday 8:00am EST), this will allow drivers to look back at the incident before deciding to bring it before the Committee.
Report must be submitted within 24 hours of race completion (i.e. Tuesday Midnight EST), or they won't be considered.
Mention the lap of the incident, and the car numbers of the cars involved.
No other text is required
Attach your replay of the incident (keep the replay short, but it must cover at least 5 seconds before and after the incident itself).

The League Administrator will review the submitted report and if judged receivable (time frame, lap and car numbers, replay, etc.), he will contact the other driver(s) involved and ask them to send their own replay of the incident.

The league Administrator will inform the involved driver(s) of the lap incident occurred and of the cars involved, so that they can send the proper replay in a similar way.

When contacted by the League Administrator regarding an incident they've been involved in, drivers must submit their own replay within 24 hours after receiving the L.A's email. If the involved driver does not reply or fails to send his own replay within 24 hours, it will be assumed that he feels comfortable the replay be reviewed based on the other driver's replay.

After receiving all replays, the League Administrator will send them to each Review Committee members (or Alternate members)

Each Review Committee member will then review the incidents independently (i.e. without communicating with the other reviewer), and report his decisions to the League Administrator. If he found a driver to be at fault, the reviewer will state the nature of the infraction.

The League Administrator will compile decisions from both reviewers, confirm the official ruling for each incidents and hand out penalties when applicable.

The League Administrator will communicate with drivers found at fault and inform them of the penalty incurred (warning, probation, suspension, or eviction).

Appeals

The League Administrator will communicate with drivers found at fault and inform them of the penalty incurred (warning, suspension, or eviction).

A driver will only be found at fault and penalized if BOTH reviewers find him guilty of a clear negligence, reckless move or blatant take out. Understanding this, we ask you to respect the Review Committee conclusion as final.

As both drivers replays have been reviewed, there will be no appeal.

Penalties

2 spin rules violation

Drivers failing to park their car after 2 self spins causing a yellow (regardless if damage to other cars) will be subject to 1 race suspension. Second offense in another race will result in a 2 race suspension.

Drivers found at fault after an incident protest or a blatant violation:

As stated earlier, we will not penalize every racing move and every driver mistake.

A driver will only be found at fault and penalized if BOTH reviewers find him guilty of a clear negligence, reckless move or blatant take out.

When you are found at fault, it really means you need to adjust either your attitude or your driving style. Should you leave more room? Should you stop taking chances with Kamikaze move or "dive passing"? Should you think to be less aggressive on restarts or on cold tires? Should you stop blocking at all costs?

Warning

When a driver is found at fault by the Review Committee, he will receive a warning and placed on probation.

Being found at fault for a 2nd time will result in a TWO race suspension

Suspension

Suspension will be handed out after being found at fault for a 2nd time in the season. When you're on suspension, take the time to reflect on why and what you can do different when your suspension is over.

You will be allowed NO provisional points while serving a suspension.

Another infraction following a suspension will lead to your eviction from the Series.

Eviction

If a driver has been suspended for one race and is found at fault for a serious infraction again (3rd time), he will be asked to retire from the Series.

Final Ruling / Publication

Rulings will be emailed to all Cup Series members prior to the following event.